


Lonely Hearts

by AngelaIsAWeeb



Category: HoloEN, Hololive, Virtual Streamer Animated Characters, holoMyth
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood and Injury, Cuddling & Snuggling, Dreams and Nightmares, Eventual Romance, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Multi, Natural Disasters, No beta read we die like yagoo's dream, Romance, Slow Burn, Strippers & Strip Clubs, Unrequited Crush
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-18 16:14:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29246403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngelaIsAWeeb/pseuds/AngelaIsAWeeb
Summary: Watson was used to living a rather solitaire life and sharing an apartment with 3 girls was a struggle.Her way of acting irresponsibly made the other girls she considered 'acquaintances' worry beyond reason, but Amelia liked to keep her distance from them to avoid causing them any trouble.After a fight with her roommates she decided to take a walk to clear her head.As she wandered on the beach shore in the frigid night, she spots something on the sand near the water...A girl with a shark tail.
Relationships: Gawr Gura/Watson Amelia (hololive), Mori Calliope/Takanashi Kiara, Ninomae Ina'nis/Watson Amelia (hololive)
Comments: 39
Kudos: 335





	1. A walk by the beach

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoy! follow me on twitter if you like: @13MON4

‘When did things turn out like this?’ This was what the detective kept thinking as she walked in an empty street by the seashore.

Her mind would often trap her in that constant way of thinking…but it would’ve been easier to accept if there was no reason behind it, but indeed there was: she was a time traveler and she wasn’t used to having a place to stay for longer than a couple of months…or having friends.  
She had met a lot of people in her life, but only recently she had met someone she could consider “acquaintances”…and they were all odd.  
One was Calli, a reaper that acted tough most of the times, her girlfriend Kiara who seemed to never shut up about anything and Ina, a quiet girl who basically had the power of ancient gods on her side and worked as a priestess to said gods.

They had started sharing an apartment and Amelia accepted even if she barely knew the girls mostly because she needed a place to rest between all of her time travels…and apartments aren’t cheap.  
Everyone had their own room and there was a common area where they could hang out if they desired so, but the blonde rarely hung out with them, too busy with her time traveling activities and her own stubbornness.  
When she actually had free time she would either spend her time in her bedroom, working on some cases and some machines or go to bars and strip clubs: it was easier than dealing with her problems and it helped relieved some stress.

Of course that was just a momentarily solution that usually brought more problems…mostly hangovers and paper-written messages from girls she had no memory of, asking to meet again.

Her roommates would sometimes get awoken in the middle of the night by a very much wasted blonde about to throw her guts into the nearest trashcan.  
They would take turns into cleaning the mess she left and take her to her bedroom to make her rest and the next day when Amelia would wake up she’d awkwardly apologize to them while scratching her head and grabbing something to take care of the headache that typically ensued.

They were good people, that’s what she believed…but she felt too worried about hanging with them since she had been always moving around, whether in time or space.  
‘This is temporary…like everything’ is what she repeated to herself constantly, the only reassurance that made her believe that she was doing the right thing for them.

It was dark out when she had gone for a walk, the cold air of the night made the pain in her right cheek sting even more and she let out an hiss as her fingers grazed the area…remembering why she was in pain.  
She had gone back in her timeline after a week of time traveling, trying to solve a recent case that had more history than it first led on.  
She hadn’t told the other girls about the fact she was going to leave for a week…and when she got back she was met with the worried gaze of Kiara, the tear stained face of Ina and a furious looking Calli: they knew she was a time traveler, but leaving without any kind of message made the extremely worried about her state.  
Calli had yelled at her for acting irresponsibly and the Amelia had replied in a not-so-friendly way, sounding sarcastic and condescending…asking why they even cared about someone who was always away all the time.

She expected a slap from Calli…but instead it was Ina who acted first, tears still streaming down her face, and the blonde could only stare a little wide eyed at the usually silent girl standing in front of her as she held her now red-tainted cheek.  
“You are such an idiot!” Amelia couldn’t really disprove that, her eyes looking downward, away from the tears that she had caused.

Kiara and her girlfriend looked worryingly at the two girls in silence, as the reaper was about to speak up Amelia put on an uncomfortable smile and mumbled “I’ll take a walk…”.  
“Ame-“ Kiara didn’t even have the chance to reply as the girl had already headed towards the exit and closed the door behind her, she looked at her girlfriend with a sad expression and Calli could only sigh and tell her to wait for her to come back; the priestess gulped down a sob and with a scowl on her face headed to her bedroom, closing it with one of her tentacles that had appeared behind her.  
.  
.  
.  
The blonde reached the beach, her brown lace shoes covered in sand and her whole body cold as ice from the breeze that came from the ocean: she could the puffs of her breath coming out from her mouth as she looked at the waves that soaked the coast.  
She tried to warm up her hands with her breath, cupping them around her mouth and blowing warm air…it helped, but only a little.

“Some whiskey would really help right now…” came the mumble, that surely helped with the cold…and with her other stuff she didn’t have the strength to deal with.

“Maybe I could pay a visit to the Holo bar-“ her words caught in her throat as she her eyes noticed something located in the sand…was it a beached dolphin? She couldn’t really tell from the distance so she stepped closer.  
Her eyes widened when she realized that it was a girl dressed in a blue hoodie, wet from the water, unconscious and…was that a tail coming from under her clothes?  
Amelia hurried towards her and immediately checked to see if she was indeed just unconscious and not dead: having some medical expertise surely helped in this situation.  
She could hear her heartbeat and her breathing, even if a little ragged, was still there; she inspected her closely and noticed that the weird appendage sprouting from under her hoodie was bleeding from what seemed like a bite…a small chunk of it missing.  
Her forehead was bleeding as well, but less compared to her tail…the detective deduced that she probably must’ve hit her head on something.

“Ugh…what do I do?” She usually had a plan prepared, but right now she felt unsure for the first time in a while.  
Her hand run through her blonde locks, another exhale coming from her chest: the girl was injured and she couldn’t leave it all on her own; “Maybe the police…” would handing her to the law enforcement do any better? She could be dragged some weird place, she definitely wasn’t human…or at least not fully.

Tilting her head down, she decided on the most logical thing at that moment: take her back home.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Do you think she’ll be fine? I mean…what if she ends up in a bar fight or something?”  
“Kiara, I know you’re worried…but we can’t really do anything about it, Watson has always acted like this, we can’t force her to do things she doesn’t want…it wouldn’t be right.” The two girls sat on the couch, with Kiara leaning on the taller girl that had her arm wrapped around her shoulder.  
“Yeah but…she’s des-“ a knock on the door made the ginger shut up and immediately get up from the comfortable spot on the sofa to get up and open the door, hoping it was the blonde.  
“Ame! We were so-“ a horrified gasp escaped her as a hand landed on her mouth, which made Calli get up from the sofa in an instant and run towards the door.

There Amelia stood, with a heavy breath and carrying a girl in a piggy back hold: blood was seeping from the tailed girl’s forehead, some landing onto the detective’s coat and some on the ground, leaving a small trail.  
“Ame w-what…”  
“No time to explain! Let me through.” She sounded harsh, but it was an emergency.  
The phoenix let her walk through the door and Amelia rushed to get the girl onto the couch, laying her down gently.

“Calli, bring me the brown bag next to my drawer, hurry!”  
And the reaper did just that, scurrying off to the blonde’s room “Kiara, I need you to hold her head-“  
“What is all this noise?” Came Ina’s voice as she exited her room, the angry expression that hadn’t left her since the fight disappeared the moment she saw the blood on the detective’s clothes and a girl lying unconscious on their couch.  
“Ina, could you take a basin and fill it with warm water?” As much as the priestess wanted answers, she did as she was told and headed in the bathroom to grab what was requested.

Meanwhile, Kiara had lifter the fainted girl’s head and made it rest on her thighs and in that moment the reaper came back with the rather large bag.  
The moment she handed the detective her bag and Ina returned with the basin, the blonde started grabbing various medical utensils from the bag: first, the tail.  
She cleaned the wound, disinfected it and then began closing it with some stitches; her hand worked carefully but efficiently, and after a couple of minutes the wound was closed, and began bandaging it.  
Then came the forehead: Amelia checked to see if there could’ve been more damages to the head or the neck and, when she found none, she exhaled in relief; the warm water in the basin had now turned a warm shade of red as the detective kept on cleaning the girl’s wounds.

Soon enough, the girl’s injuries were taken care of for the most part.  
“Amelia…what happened?” Calli’s voice broke the silence and once again the blonde sighed with a tired expression “I was walking on the beach, I saw something in the distance and at first I thought it could’ve been a dolphin or something like that…but instead I found her.” She explained, pointing her thumb towards the still unconscious girl.  
“I didn’t think it would’ve been right to call the police, I mean, look at her tail.” Continued the blonde, now looking at Calli with a ‘I didn’t know what else to do’ stare.

“Poor girl…I wonder what happened to her…” Mumbled the phoenix, gently caressing the hair on the girl’s forehead away.  
“I don’t know…but I couldn’t just leave her there…” Ina looked at the detective and then spoke up “Do you think she’ll wake up soon?”   
“I hope so…” without more medical equipment the girl couldn’t tell if there were any internal damages and she couldn’t take her to the hospital.

The only things left for her to do was keep a close watch on the girl’s condition and hope for the best.

“I understand…” commented the priestess.  
Amelia looked at her pocket watch, noticing how late it was: it had taken a long while for her to walk back because of the added weight she had carried.  
Kiara glanced at the detective “Ame…you-“  
“You guys should rest now…I will keep an eye on her, don’t worry.” A tired smile made its way on the blonde’s lips and the phoenix just nodded in silence, grabbing her girlfriends hand to head back to their room, Ina hummed a melancholic ‘humu’ and walked towards her own.

“I…I’m sorry for before” was the last minute sentence she directed towards Ina; she wondered if it was a sincere apology, but maybe for once she wanted to at least try.  
“…Goodnight Ame.” Was the only reply the detective received as the priestess entered her room and gently closed the door.

The blonde was once again alone…well almost.  
She sat on the smaller sofa right next to the one where the tailed girl was currently laying on, her glance ending on the soft white hair that had blue tints here and there.  
She had so many questions wandering in her brain, but she could only wait for the girl to wake up.  
“I really need a whiskey after today.”


	2. Shark out of water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amelia wakes up and can't see the girl she had saved the day before...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy! I will try and update chapter 3 as soon as possible, but it's a busy week, if you want follow me on twitter: @13MON4

The sun’s rays were shining through the windows as the morning seeped in.  
As much as the detective had tried to stay awake during the night, everything that had happened the day before had taken a toll on her and ended up snoozing on the couch, a dreamless sleep that made her feel rather relaxed considering the circumstances.

But it was all interrupted the moment a loud crashing sound was heard and Amelia immediately woke up and looked around in a panicked state, getting up from the sofa.  
Her eyes instinctively went towards the other couch: the girl wasn’t there anymore and the small table that was in front of it had been flipped over; but soon enough she heard another thumping sound coming from right behind it and, as she stepped closer, saw the girl trying to stand up (and failing to do so).

As she was about to walk over her, the wood under her shoes creaked because of the weight and the white haired girl turned her head around, looking extremely frightened as she tried to back away in a whimper, landing with her butt on the floor.  
“Ah! It’s okay!” the detective tried her best to bring comfort, kneeling beside her but as soon as she got too close to the girl’s side, she heard something similar to a growl coming from the shorter girl.  
“Hey hey, it’s okay…can you tell me your name?” the blonde tried asking, raising her hands in surrender to show that she was harmless.

Meanwhile, woken up by the commotion, the other residents of the shared apartment exited their room, still sleepy.  
“Somethin' wrong Watson? Accidentally slipped onto a banana peel tod-“ Calli started speaking with a yawn, but as she entered the living room and saw the mess on the floor, walking around to search for the detective and finding her next to the now no longer unconscious girl.  
Out of worry, the reaper tried to come near the blonde “Calli don’t-!” it was too late: the exact moment the reaper had neared the two figure, the tailed girl jumped onto the blonde’s lap and tried to bite at her…pointed teeth ending on the girl’s shoulder and going through the clothes, piercing at the flesh.  
“Gh-!” Amelia flinched from the pain, trying to restrain herself from prying the girl’s teeth from her shoulder, some blood now seeping through the wound and tainting her clothes.

The reaper was ready to bring out her scythe while the other girls neared them, fear and worry written all over their face…but before things could escalate further, an angry shout stopped the pink haired girl.

“DON’T COME ANY CLOSER!”  
The girl currently biting her shoulder had a look of surprise on her face, not expecting that reaction but still biting on the shoulder.  
With a shaky exhale the blonde gently put her hand onto the other girl’s head, which cause the bite to increase in force and another pained moan to escape the detective, but instead of trying to remove her from her, she gently started patting her head.

It was something she learned when dealing with criminal kids, usually treating them with affection during a moment of distress would make them calm down…she hoped that in this case it would work as well: she didn’t wish to harm a clearly frightened and already injured girl.  
For a minute the grip didn’t drop in intensity but the blonde kept on patting the white hair, her hand shaking slightly from the pain…but when the girl noticed that the blonde wasn’t hurting her, she removed her fangs from the girls shoulder and just stared at the detective, still very cautious.  
Amelia sighed in relief, a hot ache spreading on her shoulder as it was finally released from the extremely painful grip.  
“S-see? Everything is good.” As she looked down at the girl in her lap, she gave an awkward chuckle and continued to pat her head in a slow and gentle way “Now…could you please tell me your name?” she asked once again, her eyes never leaving the girl.  
It seemed as the tailed girl was struggling to make a sound come out, but nothing could be heard other than what she guessed was a whimper of frustration.

‘Does she not know how to speak? Is she mute…?’ wondered the detective.  
“I’m Amelia, wanna try and say it?”  
“…a….A!” was the only sound she made.  
‘Well at least this proves she is not mute…’ Ina walked closer to the two girls, which made the tailed girl turn her stare towards the priestess and another growl to come out.  
“Ina, I suggest you don’t enter her personal space…she clearly doesn’t trust us.” When Ina heard Amelia speak, the flaps on her hears lowered a little and she moved back a little; with that the growling stopped.

“What do we do now, Ame?” Asked Kiara from right beside Calli and the detective could only glance downwards at the girl in her lap.  
“For now, she seems calm like this…it’s better to avoid causing her more stress, she seems inoffensive but her teeth are really something else, trust me.”  
“But-“  
“Could you do me a favor? Could you make a sandwich for her? She needs something to eat probably…and I can’t move with her like this.” Kiara noticed that even if the girl was no longer biting onto the detective, her hands were holding onto the coat of the blonde.

The phoenix went into the kitchen and soon enough she came back with a plate and a sandwich resting on top of it.  
She handed the plate to the blonde before distancing herself from the two, and as soon as the plate was in the detective’s hands the girl in her lap began jumping a little and repeating the letter “A!”.  
Amelia picked the sandwich up and handed it to the girl, which was gone in an instant: the white haired girl began devouring it, in less than a minute the meal was gone and she was licking away some of the mayonnaise that ended on her hands from eating too fast.

Amelia’s shoulder began aching a lot, but of course she couldn’t do anything about it yet as the girl was still sitting on her lap.  
“H-hey girl, do you mind letting me get up?” she asked gently.  
The white haired girl looked confused for a second but then seemed to understand as she started lifting herself, but unfortunately while doing that she lost her balance and fell to her side.  
Immediately the detective checked on her as she had hit her head on the cold and hard floor, but luckily it didn’t seem like there were any more injuries.

“It seems like she’s dealing with some sort of dizziness…” the blonde explained to the other girls, and lifted (very slowly and with a lot of struggle) the girl to bring her to the couch once again.  
As she lowered her down, she then grabbed her shoulder that was now in excruciating pain: she grabbed the bag with the medical utensils and, after removing her coat and white blouse underneath only her bra was left on.

She began, with a little difficulty, taking care of the wound: the blood was still dripping from a bunch of lined round spots. “Calli, give me a hand for a second” she hated having to ask for help, but there was no other choice in this situation.

After a couple of minutes and thanks to the help from the reaper, the wound was properly taken care of.  
Amelia went back to her room to drop off her blood-soaked clothes and put some clean ones; during that short span of time she thought she had heard a small whimper coming from the white haired girl…but she probably must’ve imagined it.

She slowly sat next to the bitter and looked at her.  
“So, it seems like she can’t speak our language and probably barely understand it…well first we need to find a way to call her, we can’t call her ‘girl’ all the time.” She spoke to everyone in the room, and the tailed girl looked at her with big wide eyes, her tail swinging from side to side in a slow manner.  
“How about…Gura? I mean, the other name I thought of would be ‘Same’ which means shark in Japanese…and from the bite you left me on the shoulder I can tell you are definitely a shark.” Explained the blonde to the white haired girl.

“Gura? Couldn’t you have thought of something less sh-“   
“Hush Calli, the name is not for you.”   
The shark looked at the blonde, a rather shy expression on her face as she struggled to repeat the name ‘Gura’.  
“C’mon…Gu-Rah” tried to help the detective, showing her tongue and mouth movements to the girl.  
“G-gu…raw…”   
“Yes…you are Gura!” a small smile made its way onto Amelia’s face.  
“You are Gura and I’m Amelia” with her hands the blonde tried to make the shark associate the names to the people.

“Gu-raw!” the short girl said excitedly “A!” as she said she grabbed the blonde’s sleeve.  
“Eh? I’m Amelia, not just A!”   
“A!” the shark seemed even more happy now, probably misunderstanding what the detective was trying to conceive.  
Calli, Kiara and Ina laughed a little at the scene, and unfortunately for the detective, she could only laugh a little herself.

“Fine…I will make an exception for now…call me A.”

After that, the other girls cautiously began trying to tell the shark their own names: Calli was Guh because as soon as the reaper said her name she let out a ‘Guh’ like she was used to and the shark understood that it must’ve been her name; Kiara was Kia and Ina was…well Ina.  
Amelia wondered why Gura called her just ‘A’ if she knew how to say Ina, but maybe it was just a preference…or easier for her to remember.

The shark was still wary of the other girls, but she appeared much more relaxed than before…so much so she yawned from tiredness.  
“I will make her sleep in my room, the bed is much more comfortable than the couch, I will stay there to make sure that when she wakes up she doesn’t end up scared again.” The other girls nodded and went ahead to have breakfast; meanwhile Amelia gently grabbed the shark’s hand and gently tugged her to follow.

Gura tried to stand up but once again she was about to fall, luckily for her the detective grabbed her before she could hurt herself even more, supporting her to walk towards her bedroom.  
As the two entered the room, Gura kept looking around at every little detail, sniffing the air to probably get accustomed ‘She reminds me more of a puppy than a shark’ was what the blonde was thinking, bringing the girl to her soft bed.  
“Here, you can rest…” she told Gura.

The shark laid on the bed, still sniffing at the smell; soon enough she got comfortable enough and laid her head on the soft pillow, her eyes still looking at the detective.

A small whimper escaped her lips.

Amelia was surprised at the gesture.  
“Hey, it’s ok…I’ll stay right here.” And to prove it she grabbed her desk chair and brought it closer to the bed, sitting down on it.  
“See?”

The shark stopped whimpering and instead her tail started thumping a little onto the mattress, the blue eyes never leaving the detective but slowly closing.  
Amelia chuckled in a soft volume and gently shook her head, her head leaning slightly to the side to look at the girl that was slowly falling asleep.

“Don’t worry…A is not leaving.”


	3. Alcohol's warmth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Gura wakes up, Amelia feels rather tired and thinks about going out for a drink.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy! if you want follow me on twitter: @13MON4

For once in her entire life, Amelia kept a promise.

The shark had been sleeping for many hours now, the sky glowing orange as the afternoon began setting in…and the detective was still sitting in that chair.  
Her eyes were absently looking at the girl still resting onto her bed, a new set of worries and questions setting in: Did the girl have a family? Was someone looking for her? What about her injuries? Should she even care about the girl at all?

Sure, she had helped her out…but she didn’t really care too much about her: She pitied her, to an extent.  
The girl looked exactly like a lost puppy, if you could remove the fact that she was in fact a shark…a very strong one at that.  
Amelia tried to touch her injured shoulder, but winced the moment her fingers lightly pressed on the wound, a tired sigh was the only sound she made.

‘I should’ve acted sooner…’ 

While the detective reminisced about the last few hours, with the corner of her eye she caught stirring from the bed and immediately turned her head around.  
The shark that had curled up into a tiny ball onto the mattress now stretched her limbs and yawned rather loudly, her eyes blinking open; Gura put herself into a sitting position, her tail now resting onto her lap as she tried to rub the sleep off of her face.

“Well good morning, hope you had a nice and beauty-restoring sleep” at that, the shark seemed to finally remember the presence that was in the room and glanced at the blonde sitting next to her bed as a tiny grin brightened her face and made her instantly recover from all of the sleepiness.  
“A!” came the rather excited answer, now with her palms on the mattress as her tail began swinging from side to side.  
“See? I stayed here…” Amelia wanted to roll her eyes at how the shark seemed to react to her presence.  
Gura slowly made her way towards the detective, with her hands helping keep her balance, and as soon as she was in front of the detective she put her hands onto the blonde’s thighs, inching her face closer to hers.

“Mh? Do you need something?” Amelia asked, wondering for how long she was going to have to take care of this girl.  
“A…!” What other answer could the detective have even expected from her? What she didn’t expect was the white haired girl rubbing her cheek onto her own.  
“H-hey…I’m fine with keeping you company for a little, but I want my personal space.” Spoke Amelia with a harsher tone, which made Gura move herself away from her cheek, looking at the blonde with a sad expression…like a puppy who had just been scolded for ruining the owner’s shoes by biting on them.

For a second, Amelia felt bad.  
“Ugh…sorry, you probably only understood my tone and now what I meant…”  
“A…s-so…”  
“Mh?”  
“S-sow…sowwy?” Gura’s face was scrunched up as she tried to repeat what Amelia had said; the detective raised an eyebrow in curiosity “Sorry?”.  
“S-so..wy” 

‘She seems to learn words rather fast, even if she can’t pronounce them well yet’ Amelia now held a small proud smile ‘Maybe she knows what we are telling her but just can’t communicate back…’ she continued to wonder, patting the shark’s head gently, which caused the sad expression on the shark’s face to disappear and another smile to take its place.

She wanted to test that theory.  
“Gura, who am I?”  
The girl looked at her for a couple of seconds, before her tail started wagging and a cheerful reply came “A!...Yu!” Amelia laughed a little, satisfied by the answer: this was already a lot of progress in the eyes of the detective, Gura was assimilating at a fast pace and, soon enough, she would be able to tell them where she came from.  
‘I hope this will be over soon, it’s definitely not my forte’ she thought as the shark kept on repeating ‘Yu!’ in the meantime, showing off what she had just learned.

A headache began setting in: the stress of the previous day, the chaos of the morning after and the pain in her shoulder the primary cause…but of course there were other things troubling her that weren’t related to the recent turn of events.

‘I wouldn’t mind a drink right now…’ she dreamed, trying to remember if the bar she usually visited was already open in the afternoon. While the girl was distracted, Gura looked at her with her head tilted, trying to make some sounds come out of her mouth.  
Amelia snapped back from that thought as she heard some incoherent sounds coming from the girl in front of her.

“Well, I think I deserve a break for a little…” she spoke more to herself than to the other girl.  
“Ok Gura, I will go away for a little while” explained the detective, making sure the shark could understand the gist of what she was saying “If you need anything, call for Calli- I mean…’Guh’ , ‘Kia’ and Ina…ok?” .  
Gura had an unreadable expression but she gave a small nod and Amelia smiled at her; she got up from her spot on the chair, leaving the shark alone in the room.  
She walked and headed outside, leaving the door of her bedroom slightly ajar, so that the girl could go out in case she needed anything.

As she went to the living room, she passed Ina who was quietly reading a book on the couch, the priestess saw the detective pass in front of her and her eyes moved away from the old and worn out pages.  
“I’m going out for a walk.” This time, the detective actually told where she was going…even if generic, it was still an improvement; a small ‘humu’ of acknowledgment came out of Ina’s mouth but as the blonde opened the door and stepped outside, Ina managed to ask a question.

“What about Gura?”  
The detective stopped walking, and turned around to look at the purple haired girl that was now standing right behind her.

“What about her?”  
“You…You have just found her yesterday, you think leaving her alone is a good idea?”  
“Well, not alone…she has you guys, you know?” Ina’s eyes showed some sadness at that phrasing.  
“…humu…”   
Amelia’s expression softened a little, she scratched her head for a second in a moment of awkwardness she couldn’t really shake off; Ina put on a forced happy smile that the detective seemed to not notice.

“I’ll keep an eye on Gura…for you.”   
Amelia smiled a little.  
“Thank you…” and with that, she headed outside closing the door behind her.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Coco! Why did you pour me a gin tonic? I asked for a dry gin…” Asked Amelia, with a hiccup following right after.  
“Ame, you are already tipsy and it’s not even 6 pm yet…If I give you more alcohol you’re not gonna reach home at all.” Explained the towering girl from behind the counter as she cleaned a glass with a cloth, looking mildly bored at the blonde sitting in the stool in front of her, complaining about the drink.  
“Heh…home…what a funny and useless concept…” was all Coco managed to hear, as the blonde grabbed her glassed and downed the whole thing down…definitely easier compared to the strawberry vodka she had earlier.  
“Ugh, maybe I should head back…”  
“That seems like a smart idea, gal.” Commented Coco, grabbing the now empty glass and cleaning it.  
“Alright fine, here…” and as she stood up, the detective put the money on the counter; the taller girl grabbed it and waved goodbye to the blonde “Hope you make it back in one piece.”

Amelia laughed a little, saluting the girl with her fingers and heading outside the bar “And say hi to Yagoo from me when he gets back from that trip!” was the last thing she muttered before she exited the building.

The air was starting to get chilly but the blonde could barely notice it thanks to the alcohol running in her blood and warming her from the inside; looking at the sky she noticed the stars beginning to make themselves more visible.  
“It gets dark so soon in winter…” she mumbled, starting to make her way home, luckily the bar wasn’t too far from the apartment, only a 20 minutes’ walk separated the two locations.

She took her time getting home, wanting to enjoy the chill weather for a little longer, but too soon to her liking she reached her destination.  
The door was in front of her and as she opened it, she was greeted by a rather surprising sight: Gura sitting on the couch, with Ina right next to her (still reading her book), looking at the door with a rather sad expression…until she saw the blonde enter through the door.  
When Amelia entered her line of sight, the shark’s expression changed almost instantly and, with a little struggle, she managed to walk over to the detective, hugging her waist.

“A! B-bak!”   
Amelia glanced at the shark and started feeling partially happy: she had never received such a warm welcome.  
“She exited your room and has been waiting here since, I told her you’d be back sooner or later.” Explained Ina, looking at the blonde that was still being hugged.  
“I see…” 

‘So she learned another word huh?’ another smile adorned her lips.

Gura snuggled her head onto the detective’s chest, and this time Amelia didn’t feel as uncomfortable as before; “Umh…thank you for waiting…?” it sounded awkward and silly, but the shark didn’t seem to mind it.

Ina looked at the scene, and after a last glance at the two girls, got up from the couch and headed to her bedroom, without bothering them.

“A…A bak…ear!”  
A chuckle caught the blonde off guard.  
“You wanted to say ‘Here’ huh?”  
“Mh!” the shark nodded, laughing along with the detective.

Looking at the shorter girl, Amelia felt the warmth inside of her grow even more, and she wondered if it was the alcohol, but when she glanced at the smile on the white haired girl’s face and she felt that mellow feeling increase, she shook her head.

“Yep definitely the alcohol…”  
“A?”  
“Don’t worry about it Gura.”


	4. Well-kept distance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gura had improved her communication skills and her body was mostly healed.  
> Amelia started reminiscing about her past, remembering her duties as a detective and a time traveler and Ina watches from afar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy! follow me on twitter if you want: @13MON4

“Let’s try again…A-me-lia”  
“A-a…meh!”

The detective let out a puff of air, her hand running through her blonde locks “I think you like messing with me…” she commented, giving an exasperated look to the shark in front of her.  
“A-meh!” The name was repeated loudly, the grin on Gura’s face made it obvious that she was enjoying toying with the blonde.

But Amelia couldn’t really stay mad at the girl.

A month had passed since she had brought the shark to the apartment and during this period the detective didn’t do much other than help the girl in learning English and going out for drinks every once in a while…her trips to the Holobar had decreased, even if only a little bit.  
However there was something that she hadn’t done in the past weeks: time travel.

Usually she would go back in time for research purposes or to solve old unsolved cases, but with the other girl currently stuck in their care she had almost forgotten about her duties…

Almost.

She took the pocket-watch that she always had on herself and began faintly brushing her thumb on the gold ornaments, hearing the faint ‘tics’ coming from the closed watch.  
She remembered when her uncle passed on his watch to her, telling all of the risks and bad things it would bring: at that time, she hadn’t really considered the risks and mostly she didn’t care…she had spent most of her childhood dreaming of solving crimes and discovering the secrets that the past had devoured.

She also had to take care of time shattering incidents, to avoid them happening in the future and to protect the timeline.  
Her job was everything for her, it was her reason for living and the only thing that kept everything in order in dangerous times, where anything could happen at any given moment.  
‘It’s for the good of humanity, my dear Amelia…that’s why we need to make sure that nothing destroys our world as we know it’ that’s what her uncle had told her one time, showing the gold tinted clock dangling from a small chain.

Amelia smiled fondly at that memory, but she couldn’t hide the pain in her heart…it had been a long time since her uncle had passed away from a terrible disease… she was there with him in his final moments, as he was lying on his death bed, and she remembered everything almost too clearly: how much she cried, how his breathing was ragged, how she begged to use the time machine to find a way to save him…and how he had smiled at her, gently patting her head.  
“You can’t do that, my sweet sunshine…my death is irrelevant to the timeline.”

Oh, how she hated that fact.  
She could’ve only saved her uncle if his death had meant the cause of a catastrophic event…

“A?...A-me?”  
The detective let out a surprised sound, her mind now going back to the present as she stared at the shark in front of her.  
“Yes Gura?”  
“A-me…oke?” mumbled the shark in a concerned tone.

Amelia chuckled, sadness still present on her face but as she saw the worry in those blue eyes…she felt relieved, even if it was only momentarily.  
“Yeah, I’m ok…thanks Gura.”  
The shark blushed slightly, but the blonde just shrugged it off and began thinking again: she needed to get back to her cases, they couldn’t wait much longer and honestly…she couldn’t wait.

Most of the shark’s wounds had healed, even if she was still having difficulties with keeping her balance (which was caused by the damage done to her tail, but the detective knew that, with enough time, Gura would’ve gotten used to it) and she had grown closer to the other girls as well, so Amelia didn’t need to stay in the apartment all of the time now.  
‘I will stay away just for a couple of days, that should be enough time to deal with that case I left on hold…’ and with that thought, the detective had taken her decision.

She stole a glance at the shark, currently holding her tail with her hands and inspecting the wound that had most likely been caused by an animal’s bite, eyeing it with a mixture of annoyance and curiosity.

‘Yeah…she will be fine without me.’

With a snap of her fingers, the detective caught the shark’s attention, her eyes no longer staring at the bite mark on the tail.  
“I will leave for a couple of days, you’ll stay here with the others, ok?”  
Gura tilted her head a bit but nodded quietly, her tail completely still in her lap and her eyes staring straight into the detective’s blue ones; Amelia walked over to her and gave a pat onto the shark’s head, messing a bit those white lock that reminded her of the clouds in the summer.  
With fake annoyance, Gura let out a small shrill “A!” and the blonde stopped her teasing, mumbling some softs excuses.

She grabbed her coat, put on her detective’s hat and sneaked her pocket watch into her coat’s breast-pocket; she opened the door and after glancing one last time at the shark sitting on her bed, she exited and gently closed the door behind her.  
She walked through the living room and spotted Ina drawing on the couch, humming a song to herself with a satisfied smile on her face, and the detective couldn’t resist the temptation as she sneaked behind her and whispered “What are you drawing?” in her ear.  
Ina let out a shriek of fear and she almost managed to fall off the couch, looking at the source of the mini-heart attack she just received and she as much as got scared, realizing who it was that had scared her…she couldn’t contain a blush from spreading on her cheeks.

“A-Ame you scared me…”  
The detective chuckled at the priestess reaction, leaning with her forearms on the couch with a smug grin plastered onto her face.  
“Well, you looked so focused on your drawing and I really couldn’t help myself.” Ina darted her eyes away from the blonde, trying to contain the warmth from invading her whole face.

“Anyway I uh…just wanted to tell you I’ll be gone for a couple of days, I got to work on a case.”  
Ina eye’s widened a little, not expecting this from the detective who was always reserved in her outings: it made her smile, the idea that the detective was trying to do her best.  
“I see…”  
An awkward silence descended between the two girls and after a couple of seconds the detective broke the silence with a small cough “Ok uh…then I’ll be off, take care of Gura-“  
“Don’t worry, we’ll watch over her.”

Amelia smiled only slightly and moved away from the couch heading towards the door, but as she was about to open it she heard footsteps behind her and Ina’s voice calling out for her.

“U-umh…”  
“Mh?”  
“B-be…safe out there…” the priestess could barely hold eye contact with the blonde as she spoke, the blush still present on her and her heart accelerating its pulse.  
Amelia gave one last close-mouthed chuckle and waved goodbye to Ina, showing that she appreciated the concern but that it wasn’t needed.  
The detective exited the house, leaving Ina standing alone in front of the now closed door.

‘Please…don’t be reckless…’

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ina had always harbored what Kiara had defined a “Huge crush” for the blonde detective, even if she tried to deny it…she knew deep inside that it was true.

She didn’t really know how it happened: they had met a 6 months ago when the detective was investigating and came to ask questions to some of the cult members, who were then found guilty of first degree murder and were jailed.  
Ina had been upset at the fact that murderers had joined the cult and immediately expelled them, thanking the detective for the amazing job, the blonde had smiled at her saying that it was just her job and that there was no reason to receive a ‘thank you’.

Ina had offered to invite her for a coffee, still wanting to show her gratitude…and Amelia couldn’t resist the temptation of the warm drink.  
And now they lived together…or at least under the same roof.

Why did she fall in love with Amelia? She didn’t know the answer…was it the charming looks? Was it the personality that made her so mysterious? Maybe all of that...she only knew that she every time the detective was in front of her, her heart would suddenly become extremely loud.  
She had hoped to get closer to the blonde…but it didn’t seem to work out, as Amelia would always close herself off from anyone that tried to come closer to her.

But Ina held some hope.

When Amelia came back carrying a girl on her shoulders she was surprised, but she knew that the detective was able to do something like that to help somebody, and in a way it made her fall deeper for the blonde.

The priestess had helped with taking care of Gura and slowly became attached to the girl, considering her like a little sister…but she had noticed that the detective and the shark had formed a different kind of bond; Amelia didn’t seem to notice it and the shark couldn’t express it with words.

But she didn’t worry about it, because she knew the blonde didn’t want anyone in her space…and so she let her be, caring for her from a well-kept distance and loving her in secret.  
The only moments she would show a rather fond affection was when the detective would come home drunk and take care of her, too intoxicated by the alcohol to even remember the words Ina would speak to her in a soft whisper.

It had been exactly 2 days and a half since Amelia had gone to take care of that case she had mentioned, and Ina was trying to keep her optimism…maybe the detective had to file a bunch of reports before going back home and that was the reason why she wasn’t back yet.  
Meanwhile, the shark would spend most of her time looking at the door, waiting for Amelia to be back…sometimes she would break the silence.

“A-me…whe-n?”.  
Ina would show a reassuring smile.  
“Soon, don’t worry.”  
But the shark would never be satisfied by the answer.

Until a knock was heard, and Gura rushed to the door with a small stumble and opened it eagerly.  
“A-me..!” and there stood the detective, looking extremely tired, with a couple of Band-Aids on her face and a black eye.  
“What happened to you?” Asked now Ina, getting up from the spot she was sitting and walking towards the blonde with clear worry written all over her face.  
“Got into a small fist-fight with a suspect…but it’s all good.” She replied, showing that she really didn’t wish to talk about it, not now…not ever.

“A-ame…” Suddenly, Amelia’s attention went back to the shark and her eyes widened enormously, seeing tears at the corner of her eyes as sobs started coming out of her lips.  
“…A-ame…dont…l-leav…Gurah…”   
The detective felt her heart clench terribly at the sight, and the cries of the shark made her feel like she had done something terribly wrong: why did Gura appeared so…scared? Had she grown attached to her? That’s what came to Amelia’s mind…but another question accompanied them…Did she care about the white haired girl?

Amelia feared the answer, so she simply ignored the lump that had formed in her throat because of the shark’s tears.  
“H-hey…I’m ok Gura, really-!” The shark proceeded to hug her tightly, as if letting go of her would mean never seeing the detective ever again.

It reminded Amelia of her younger self, wishing for her uncle to get better…and suddenly she was fighting back tears.  
She hugged the shark close, hiding her face in the white locks; she could feel the way Gura’s body shook with each sob and hear the whines she let out in her ear.

“I’m sorry for making you worry…” was all she could say, sounding as she was asking for forgiveness from the lord for committing a grave sin.  
The two hugged for a long time, enjoying the comfort that the hug brought to both of them…and Amelia was genuinely enjoying the embrace…probably because that someone was Gura, but she ignored that possibility.

But as the two seemed in their own little world, Ina could only stare from that well-kept distance at the sweet embrace…and her heart broke a little.


	5. Nightmares and Prayers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Water was all she could feel around her.  
> And then the fishes started swimming away...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took me wayyy too long to write...Hope you enjoy! if you want, follow me on twitter: @13MON4

Water was all she could feel around her.

The sensation was something she had always been used and that she enjoyed, but of course after thousands of years spent underwater…everyone would get a little too used to the sight.

But then…the fishes started swimming away and shaking could be felt coming from the bottom of the ocean floor; she had to hurry back.  
She could feel smaller waves forming above the water from the shaking, trying to swim as fast as possible while fighting the current; ‘Damn it…what is happening!?’ Her thoughts ran frantic struggling to keep up a good pace.

Finally, she managed to see the city from afar: Everything appeared normal like everyday…the everyday that she had grown somewhat bored of, but she exhaled in relief…Until she saw the tower at the center of the city begin to crumble down, and other buildings following soon after while screaming could be heard in the distant city.

‘No…No, No, NO NO!!’

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The detective had been sleeping peacefully, now sharing her bed with the shark.  
At first she had tried to sleep somewhere else, even willing to sleep on the couch and letting the white haired girl take her comfy bed…but the shark had refused to make the blonde sleep in somewhere that wasn’t her own room.  
Amelia had sighed and decided that sharing a bed would’ve been less of an hassle than buying a new one and less painful than the floor.  
During the first few nights she had struggled: the only times she shared a bed with someone was when she’d take a girl from a strip club into the private room that the place provided, and usually she would spend less time sleeping and more time in between silky thighs and legs.

But she had slowly managed to overcome the weird sensation and her sleeping rhythm began regulating itself, without the trouble of waking up multiple times during the night: sometimes, she would even enjoy the way the shark curled beside her, with her face nestled onto her shoulder.

‘It must be because of the warmth’ was what she told herself one morning when she woke up and found Gura with her head resting on her covered tummy.  
With each passing day the shark was learning many new things and the bond that had casually formed between the two had grown stronger, without them not really realizing; Amelia didn’t know why the white haired girl was so fond of her and it scared her.  
That was also one of the reasons she didn’t want to share a bed with the shark: by sharing a space so private, the detective felt…vulnerable; the reminder that she would only cause problems to anyone that tried to enter her life was still present.

But when Gura slept peacefully beside her bed she would almost forget about her troubles and all of her negative thoughts seemed like a lie.  
And then she was awoken by a loud gasp.  
Immediately on high alert, she looked at the shark who was the cause of the noise: Gura was breathing heavily with a pale face, a single tear sliding down her cheek that the detective didn’t fail to notice.  
“Hey, what’s wrong?” asked the blonde, gently grasping the girl’s shoulders with a worried look.  
“A-A-Ame…” was the only thing the shark could mumble out in a feeble voice, her breathing was way too rapid and that worried the detective even more.

“Gura, I need you to calm down…” her tone sounded reassuring, but the shark was struggling to focus on the blonde’s voice as her mind was still clouded by too many thoughts.  
At that point Amelia knew she had to take things in her own hands before things took a dark turn and moved to sit behind the shark, making the girl’s back rest on her chest with a hand placed firmly but gently onto the shark’s chest (making sure to not touch any sensitive area).

“Ok, follow my breathing…inhale…exhale…” explained the detective while doing the same procedure, her chest rising and lowering with every breath, making sure that the shark could feel the slow movement of her chest on her back.  
The shark was still struggling at first, her mind still flashing the horrible images she had dreamed of, but as the detective kept a steady breathing, she soon followed suit.

“Like that…keep breathing slowly…” 

Inhale.  
Exhale.  
Inhale.  
Exhale.

Gura gulped down some of the saliva in her mouth: her breaths came out slow and now her skin had regained some of the original color…but as much as her body felt better, her heart ached.  
When did a nightmare ever trouble her? She honestly couldn’t recall.

“How are you now?” Amelia was still holding her close to her chest, her expression still held a lot of worry but now that the shark was breathing normally she knew the worst had passed.  
“…Gu-rah…b-bad…dre-em”   
The detective nodded in understanding…she usually had a fair share of nightmares herself, even if not recently.  
“I see, well…luckily it was just a nightmare.” Gura nodded weakly at the blonde without muttering a word, but as much as comforting Amelia was…something felt off to the shark.

The detective realized she was still holding the shark close and, with a little flush on her cheek, let her go and moved to sit beside her; the white haired girl glanced at the blonde for a moment longer, a sad expression that felt like it had no reason being there locked onto her face.  
“Want to try and go back to sleep?”  
A nod was the only reply she got.

Amelia laid back down on the bed and patted the spot next to her, inviting the other girl to rest again.  
Instinctively, the shark moved closer to the detective and snuggled her face into her neck, which caused another (and bigger) blush onto the blonde’s cheeks; it felt weird, but Amelia knew how bad nightmares could get…so she turned on her side to hug the girl close, an arm wrapping around the shorter girl and gently patting her back in a comforting manner that the detective wasn’t used to…but it felt weirdly nice.

Gura’s eyes widened a little at the embrace, not really expecting it at that moment.  
She tucked her head closer hiding it in the girl’s collarbone as the detective kept caressing her back, feeling reassured by the sweet and gentle embrace.  
“T-thank…Ame.” Amelia’s eyes were the ones widening now, as she glanced at the girl who had just mumbled into her skin; the shark’s breathing began to slow even more and soon she noticed that the girl had already started sleeping again.

Her heart skipped a beat at the half-hidden sight of the girl’s face.

A tender smile was now plastered onto her face without her even noticing, her eyes growing tired but her arm still enveloping the girl in a hug and still caressing her.  
Without even noticing, sleep overtook her and both of the girl had a comfortable night of rest.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ina was still awake in her room.  
The night was the perfect time for her to pray to the Ancient Ones: even if the other girls knew about her duties as a priestess for the Ancient Gods she still felt weird showing that side of herself so openly.  
She sat cross-legged on the floor of her enormous and messy bedroom, some books stacked on the ground and multiple notebooks with uncountable amounts of drawings placed on most of her desk.  
She didn’t need to speak words out-loud to pray as her mind was doing all of the work…or at least most of it.

Something was bothering her.

It had been a couple of months since the Ancient Ones had contacted her, even when she prayed to them.  
She wondered if something happened back at the temple, but unfortunately she hadn’t been allowed to check the place under the request of the Gods, back when the investigation led by Amelia Watson had just concluded.  
While she worried about the situation back to her ‘workplace’, there was another thing that was troubling her…and of course that thing was Amelia Watson herself.

Ever since the day Amelia came home slightly injured and saw how different she acted with Gura…she knew she had lost her chance.  
As much as she loved the detective, she had kept herself away from her and now someone else was there for her…and the shark was doing so much for the blonde, meanwhile Ina had never even gotten close to being helpful.

As her mind drifted away from the prayer and her focus went towards the blonde, a familiar voice in her mind made itself present.

‘Priestess, I hope everything is well’  
‘Ao-chan, I was wondering where you had disappeared’  
‘I came here exactly to discuss the reason I was away’

Ina grew curious.  
‘It must be serious then’  
‘Indeed…I had to deal with a volcanic eruption at the bottom of the ocean that caused a small earthquake and I had to stop the waves from growing in intensity, otherwise a tsunami of immense destructive power would’ve destroyed many of the cities by the coast, including this one.’  
Ina raised an eyebrow in surprise.  
‘I see…’  
‘After I took care of the waves, I closed off the volcano…but it was not easy as it took me a rather long while’

Ina nodded in understanding.  
‘How have you been? I sense some regret and sorrow coming from your heart…’ A sad smile appeared on Ina’s face at that, there was nothing she could hide from Ao-chan.  
‘Don’t tell me it’s about that time traveler…’ the Gods sounded almost annoyed, but the priestess could only nod.

‘I managed to lose her even if I never had her in the first place…’ Ina could feel the tears slide down from her eyes and staining her cheeks, a sob threatening to escape in the silent night.  
The voice inside her head stopped talking for a minute and Ina wondered if the communication between the two had been severed, but soon enough she heard a sigh.  
‘You are strong, Ninomae Ina’nis, that’s why the book choose you…and that’s why you are our priestess: the pain you are feeling is only temporary…and honestly you could find someone more suited for you, someone that will love you the way you deserve, wouldn’t you agree?’ A chuckle escaped the priestess, knowing how protective Ao-chan was.

Wiping the tears away, she held a tiny and hopeful smile.  
‘I guess I can agree…’


	6. Questions and missing answers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kiara is worried that someone might be looking for Gura and asks Amelia to question the shark about her past, but things don't go as expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy! if you want, follow me on twitter: @13MON4

"Guh!"  
"Calm down, will ya? Pancakes are almost ready...no need to keep calling me!" 

Kiara smiled at the scene while sipping on her hot chocolate, trying to avoid getting burnt.  
Calli was at the stove flipping the sweet breakfast and placing it onto the plates for them, while Gura eyed the food like an apex predator, saliva almost dripping out of her mouth.  
'It seems like yesterday that this girl was carried here...' Was what the phoenix was thinking while hiding a chuckle as the shark attempted to snatch a pancake from one of the plates and the reaper yelled a loud 'Hey!' As she lightly bonked the girl on the head with her fist.  
Amelia had gone out after receiving a call about an investigation that needed her presence and Ina had already headed outside to buy groceries and some paint materials.  
While the two girls interacted with each other, Kiara stole a glance at the shark…

Where did she come from? Where was her family? How did she end up on the beach, injured and unconscious?  
There were still no answers to those questions, but it seemed like no one was really looking for them: it worried Kiara to no end, even if she didn’t show it openly…but now that Gura had learned more words in their language and her speech had gotten better maybe she would be able to tell them something about who she is and what happened to her on that night.

“Here ya go, little shrimp…you better eat all of it!” the phoenix snapped back to reality as the reaper spoke, seeing as a plate full of fluffy pancakes being placed in front of the famished shark.  
“T-Thanks Guh!” It was a rather sweet sight; Calli handed a plate with a couple of pancakes to the phoenix, sneaking a small kiss on her forehead, which made Kiara smile smugly at the pink haired girl.  
“Aw, thanks my wife-“  
“I’m not your f-“ her eyes darted to Gura.  
“…I’m not your f wording wife” As she said that, she sat down with the rest of them at the table, a plate in front of her as well.

Kiara gently shook her head with the tiniest smile gracing her lips, starting to eat her breakfast next to Calli.  
They ate mostly in silence: Calli was keeping an eye on the shark sitting in front of her, while said shark was busy gnawing on a pancake with a happy face, letting out some sounds of appreciation at the sugary flavor.

The first one to finish her food was the phoenix, used to eating light during the day.  
She stood up with the dirty plate in her hand and headed towards the sink beginning to wash it, but at that moment she heard the door of the apartment open: she didn’t have to turn around to know who it was as (almost on cue) Gura gasped.

“Ame!”  
“Hey there.” Amelia greeted the shark, walking towards where she was sitting and giving her a headpat.  
Kiara turned her head around and watched the scene, surprise written on her expression: did Amelia always act like that with Gura?

“Yo Watson”  
“Hey Ame, already home?” asked the phoenix, looking back at the plate she was scrubbing “To be honest they could’ve just explained everything on the phone, I would’ve solved the case from home and not be forced to get up at 5 am” sighed the detective, taking a seat next to the shark who was still beaming happily at the blonde, getting back to devouring her food.  
“I see…Ame, could’ve have a talk later?”

Amelia’s eyebrow raised, not expecting the request from the phoenix who rarely sounded serious; she glanced at the girl standing next to the kitchen sink and simply replied “Let’s talk now.”  
Kiara finished cleaning and, after putting away the plate, gestured with her head to the detective, telling her to move somewhere else to talk, and Amelia understood.  
“Enjoy the rest of your breakfast.”  
“Mh! Thanks Ame!” her heart fluttered at the way her name rolled off the shark’s tongue; getting up from the chair she headed to her bedroom, Kiara following right behind her.  
“Alright Kiara, what did you want to talk about?”  
The phoenix closed the door of the detective’s room behind her, sighing.

“Gura has learned many words…maybe we should try and ask her more about herself, don’t you think so?” the question was almost a whisper, and Amelia knew why: she didn’t want to be heard by the shark “I’m surprised you are interested in her, I wouldn’t have expected it if I have to say the truth.”  
“I didn’t expect you to grow so attached to her either.”

The blonde’s eyes widened for a split second, questioningly looking at the girl in front of her.  
“Me? Attached to her? Did you get drunk by kissing Calli?” the tone in which she spoke sounded mean and the ginger knew why that was, but ignored it.  
“Look Ame, she probably needs to get back to her family…she has been with us for a long time, they must be worried sick about her-“  
“I know, I know…sorry, I’ll…yeah I’ll ask her after she finishes eating…”.  
The phoenix nodded, opening the door to leave.  
“Ame, she has gotten close to you…don’t forget that.” Were the last words Kiara spoke before exiting the room and leaving Amelia alone to reflect on her thoughts.

Amelia sighed, her hand running through her blonde hair and messing it a little: of course she knew that, she wasn’t blind or stupid.  
How did it happen? Why did she grow attached to her? Another sigh escaped her lips; now it wasn’t the time to focus on such matters, she had to focus on knowing more about Gura, her well-being was her first priority.

As she was about to grab the door’s handle to leave the room and head back to the kitchen, the door opened on its own and there, right in front of her, stood the girl she denied to have grown attached to; “Ame, Kia made me go here…Ame…want talk?” Amelia was proud of how much the girl had learned, now able to form almost complete sentences without many errors. She coughed a bit in embarrassment as she realized that her mind had drifted once again to the girl.

‘What’s up with you, Watson? Where is your usual coolness?’ She tried scolding herself, reminding herself what she was supposed to do at that exact moment.  
“Yes…please, get comfortable.” Gura noticed a change in tone, a voice that almost frightened her for how cold it sounded…but she also found it charming.

She sat down cross-legged on the bed, looking at the detective that was still standing in front of her and waited for her to start speaking.  
“Do you remember when you woke up in our apartment?” Amelia had entered her detective mode: serious, precise and harsh at moment; Gura nodded with her tail swinging behind her, showing that she was rather calm at that moment.  
“Do you remember what happened before that?” 

And suddenly, the shark’s tail stopped moving and lowered onto the bed in a slow and soft manner; a confused expression was depicted onto her face as she appeared to be struggling “I-I…I…where…” she grabbed at her head with her hand, closing an eye as she winced in pain.  
As soon as she heard the girl wince, Amelia hurried to her side, trying to calm her down: she had an idea on what was probably happening to her…

Amnesia.

She remembered the injury she had gotten to her head: even if it didn’t cause much external damage, it was one of the possible causes for the fact that the shark wasn’t remembering anything, the pain being a symptom of it.  
“Gura, ignore what I said right now…lie down and rest.” The white haired girl nodded weakly, the pain lighter than before but still present; laying down on the bed, she closed her eyes and, after a couple of minutes, she was out like a light.

Amelia stayed next to her until she fell asleep and even after that (just for a couple of minutes) to check that she was well enough.  
Exiting the room she immediately headed towards the living to find Kiara and Calli: the two girls were quietly chatting on the sofa, too distracted by their own conversation they didn’t hear Amelia hastily walking in the room.

“And then death-sensei-“  
“Kiara, Calli…” the two girls finally turned their head towards the blonde and when they saw the look on her face their eyes darkened.

“Ame, what’s wrong-“  
“She has Amnesia, or rather…she shows signs of Amnesia.” The words came out all in one breath, the phoenix could see the way Amelia breathed, agitated and worried; Calli had a look of disbelief on her face “Are you sure Watson? I mean-“  
“When I found her at the beach she had a head trauma, nothing too dangerous, but it might be the cause…I asked her if she remembered anything before she woke up here, and she was struggling and…and her head started hurting.” The reply was almost too fast and the detective realized it as well, but right now she couldn’t really care.

“If it’s not the physical trauma, maybe a psychological one…but I believe it’s Amnesia” silence befell on the room: Kiara had her hands united in front of her face as her elbows rested on her knees, Calli sighed in frustration and the only thing Amelia could do was sit down on the couch in front of the two girls.

“This…this is bad, if she has someone searching for her…then what should we do?” Asked Kiara, glancing at the blonde with a sad expression, clearly concerned for the shark girl.  
“I don’t really know…”  
“Can’t you time-travel and check-“  
“I can’t…as much as I’d like to, I can’t” Kiara was taken aback by the reply, as it sounded so painful for the detective to mutter.  
“In some cases Amnesia can be treated with therapy or by just waiting…but I don’t know if-“

“Why are you guys talking about Amnesia?”  
From behind them came the voice of Ina who was carrying a bunch of groceries bag, looking confused as she didn’t understand the whole conversation.

The blonde briefly explained what had happened a few minutes earlier and the priestess didn’t fail to notice how saddened the detective looked as she spoke in a whisper, her eyes looking downward the whole time.  
“Humu, I see…”  
“Now we are unsure on what to do next.” Kiara chimed in with a worried look.

The purple haired girl’s stare instinctively landed on the blonde and, as much as she knew she was not meant for her, her heart still pained at the sight of the detective holding a miserable look on her face.  
‘You’re making it so obvious Ame…’

Ina wondered for a second, trying to think of a solution to the problem at hand…and then a light bulb lit up her single brain cell.  
“I…might have a solution.”

Amelia’s head perked up and she stared wide-eyed at the priestess.  
“What solution?” her nervousness was evident from her voice and from the hopeful smile that made its way onto her face; Ina stayed silent for a little, scratching her arm and looking away from the girls.  
“Ina…if you can help her…please…” Oh, how desperate she sounded, but the detective at that moment didn’t bother to care: Gura had the priority.

A sigh escaped the priestess lips, her head rising as she looked at Amelia dead in the eyes.

“I can use the power of the Ancient Ones to make Gura remember.”


	7. Lonely hearts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amelia doesn't trust the Ancient Ones...but there is no other option.

Amelia knew Ina was a good girl.   
Always acting responsibly and worrying about others, including the detective; that was the reason as to why she didn't wish to stay close to her...she was too pure and gentle.   
Even if she didn't consider the priestess a 'friend', there was no denial to this statement: she was a trust worthy girl.  
She trusted her…but she didn’t trust the Ancient Ones.

Amelia had encountered the entity only a couple of times in her life: the most recent one was during the investigation that involved some of the members of the cult…the first time was years earlier, when due to an ‘accident’ caused by the Gods she had to time travel to solve the situation that could’ve killed countless people and caused destruction on earth.  
Back then, the Ancient Ones acted like they had done nothing wrong…that it was the humans fault for their sufferings, and of course the detective didn’t appreciate the tone, almost getting killed by it as she taunted how much of a failure it was for them to almost destroy the planet and how embarrassing it was that a human had saved humanity, not Gods.

To the Gods she was a nuisance…a fake savior: she didn’t possess unnatural and inhuman powers like them, she only had science and an old piece of junk that had been given to her by her uncle.  
‘A human shouldn’t play with time like a toddler that is given a glass vase’ that’s what the Ancient Ones told the detective, sounding quite pleased at the reaction Amelia gave.

“I-I know how you feel about the Ancient Ones…and I do know how they feel about you as well-“ It wasn’t rare that Ao-chan would complain about the blonde, especially when Ina would keep on praising the girl.  
Amelia held a doubtful expression on her face, wondering if this was actually a good idea “-but I promise, Ao-chan would not do something that I do not 100% agree with…” 

Amelia removed the hat from her head, running her fingers through her blonde locks…would the Ancient Ones really do that? She found it hard to believe.  
But what else was left for her to do? She couldn’t time travel and therapy would take too long, the detective just wished to help the shark…and this was the fastest way to do it, even if she hated to admit and didn’t trust the entity that would do it.  
“Ina…I don’t believe that the Ancient Ones are the best solution.” Ina gulped down her nervousness, looking away from the detective “…but it’s probably the most efficient one.” Ina’s flaps twitched lightly at that, her eyes moving back to the blonde’s face.  
“I’m giving you my trust, it’s not much…but that’s what you get.” Amelia spoke out-loud, hoping that the Gods were listening to that whole conversation (and they were).

“Humu, I will prepare for the procedure.” And with that, Ina abandoned the groceries on the kitchen counter and headed back to her room; Amelia sighed, clearly showing how worried she was in regards to the ordeal.  
“Ame…” Kiara’s voice trembled slightly.  
“I should…check on Gura…” the blonde put the hat back on her head not looking at the phoenix, walking back to where the shark was resting.

‘As long as Gura gains back her memories…that’s all that matters.’

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ina had moved the couches on the living room to make more space, on the small table at the center now a single object was resting on it: a book.  
Calli and Kiara had only seen it a couple of times and they knew it belonged to the priestess…but Amelia eyed it with a scowl on her face: the power that rather simple and mundane looking book held was immense…it was the catalyst for Ina’s abilities and a cursed item.

Amelia had brought Gura into the living room: the girl had rested enough and now she wasn’t in any sort of pain anymore, quietly sitting on the ground next to the detective, hugging her from the side and resting her head on the detective’s shoulder.  
The tiniest of smiles graced the blonde, patting the shark’s head to try and calm herself down…even if her face now showed her usual stone-cold expression, but at least Gura seemed to enjoy the affection she was receiving, smiling like a child who is about to open her Christmas presents.

“Alright, I spoke to the Ancient Ones…we can start if you guys are ready.” Amelia turned her head towards the priestess as soon as she spoke, staring deep into her eyes.  
“Gura, are you ready?” they didn’t explain to the shark what they were about to be doing, just that they wanted to help her doing something: Gura looked skeptical, but she trusted the detective…she had nothing to fear.  
“Ye, am ready!” 

The priestess nodded, sitting down in front of the shark.  
Her eyes closed gently as she began steadying her breathing: inhale…exhale…her mouth opened slightly and she spoke in a soft whisper: even if they could hear what she was speaking, they definitely didn’t understand it…probably a language too ancient or too cursed for them to even imagine.  
The chanting continued and suddenly the detective noticed the book that had been resting on the table the whole time now started floating mid-air; instinctively she held Gura closer to her.

The book opened, flipping through multiple pages…and then the shark whined loudly, her hand grabbing at her head “Gura!” Amelia worriedly glanced at the girl, clearly in pain, while Calli and Kiara could only look at the scene unfold in front of them.  
“Creature…” an inhumane voice coming from apparently nowhere spoke.  
“Your past has been locked away…it is time to remember.” Gura’s breathing accelerated, sweat covering her forehead as her eyes struggled to keep open.

“A-Ame…!” was the only thing she could mumble before everything came to a stop.

The shark stopped clinging at her head, her eyes now wide open.  
“Gura…what happened to you?” Ina tried to ask, looking concerned at the white haired girl.  
“You should be asking ‘who’ she is first” Interjected the Ancient One’s voice.  
“What are you talking about?” Amelia asked at the Gods, wondering what they were trying to say.

Ina showed clear confusion at what Ao-chan had just told her, but decided to follow their instruction.

“Gura…who are you?”   
Silence filled the room: Calli worriedly looking at the shark while Kiara held onto her hand, Ina kept her eyes fixated on the shark in front of her…and Gura sat unmoving, almost in a state of shock while the blonde could only stare at her, clearly wondering if she was actually all right.

“I’m…I’m a shark…I come from-“ she stopped for a second, inhaling a shaky breath.  
“-Atlantis…” Everyone in the room held their breath: they had all heard the legend of Atlantis, but they all believed it was just that, a legend.

“I…I lived there for almost 9000 years…” Amelia could not believe what she was hearing: this girl, who looked younger than her, had lived for far longer than her…she also noticed how the girl had now started speaking in perfect English: did that mean she had forgotten it as well?  
“You are an Atlantian?” Continued Ina, trying to hold back the surprise from what she had just heard the girl mutter.

She was met by a nod for a reply.  
“What happened? How did you end up on the beach?”  
The shark gulped, her face now paler and a frown placed on her brows “I…I had a fight with my family that day…I-I wanted to see the land of the humans…” everyone listened with the upmost attention.

“I decided to g-go and clear my head…and-and then I felt something shake, the fishes swam away and I rushed back home…I saw the city from afar a-and there was nothing wrong.”   
Gura now remembered the dream that made her woke up in a panic, believing that it was just a nightmare.

“T-then I saw a building c-collapse…” she gulped again, her eyes beginning to get teary.  
“I screamed and…” she remembered her dream ending at this exact moment “I s-started swimming as fast as possible towards home, trying to g-get to my family…”   
Kiara had started quietly crying at the story, while Calli hugged her close, trying to comfort her.

“O-Our home had crashed…I desperately called for them: my mom, my dad, my brother and sisters…no one answered.” Tears now began freely falling from her eyes and Amelia couldn’t handle seeing the girl in so much pain.  
“A-Atlantis was falling apart and I-I had to escape…but a ravine opened underneath the city…I g-got stuck and my tail ended up getting injured, I managed to free myself b-but then…” the shark stopped talking, struggling to focus on remembering what happened after.   
“I kept on swimming, i-it wasn’t easy with my tail injured…and then I was attacked…? Something bit my tail and…and I fought back but then…I fell unconscious..?” 

Gura stopped talking, tears gushing out of her eyes at the realization.  
“M-my family…t-they are all…” Everyone’s eyes widened after the girl spoke as she began throwing up on the floor, Amelia immediately rushing to her side to help her.

Ina then remembered a conversation.  
“Ao-chan…that volcanic eruption…” Gura wiped some of her saliva off of her chin, her glance darting towards Ina.  
“That could be the cause for the ravine that opened underneath the city and that destroyed it…I didn’t know Atlantis was still existing.”   
Gura got up from the ground, almost losing her balance.  
“So my city…all of the citizens…all of my family…are all gone because of a stupid volcano??” yelled the shark, anger slipping out of her mouth as she gritted her pointy teeth.

No one knew what to say after that, even if they wanted to.  
And then, Gura ran outside of the apartment in the blink of an eye…and Amelia rushed after her, calling out her name.  
The shark was a fast runner, something that the detective didn’t really expect from her, but she was used to running her whole life and even if she was still behind her she kept a good pace and didn’t lose sight of the girl.  
She noticed that the girl was running towards the beach ‘Did she also remember where I found her?’ wondered the detective as she kept accelerating.

Gura’s feet hit the sand and, barely a second after, so did Amelia.  
The detective saw that the shark was headed straight for the water and, in a moment of uncertainty, the blonde tackled her to the ground, holding her still.  
“Ame let me go!” Gura kicked and tried to push the girl off of her, hitting her in the process, but nothing could make Amelia budge.

“Gura calm down!”  
“I need to go back there! My family is still there-!” the shark was still trashing, a snarl escaping her throat as a way to intimidate the detective...but she didn’t move from her position, now basically laying on top of the shark.  
And then Amelia felt a sharp pain on her shoulder, the same one she had been bitten back when she had brought the girl back home, but she still managed to hold the girl down, biting her bottom lip to try and contain the scream of pain she wanted to let out.

Gura was trying everything possible to make the girl move out of the way, the bite being her last resource.  
She felt a slight movement from the detective above her and thought that maybe her plan might have worked…but then she felt a pair of arms hug her.  
Teeth still sunk on the blonde’s shoulder, Gura heard her soft voice speak to her “I-I know it hurts…”

The shark’s eyes widened when she looked at the detective and saw her cry, the tears falling down from her cheeks and onto the shark’s face.  
“I-I wish I could take your pain away…and save your family…but I c-cant and the idea of you carrying this pain for the rest of your life kills me…” Amelia sobbed, eyes clenched shut.  
“I lost someone too many years ago…and I couldn’t do anything about it…” Gura had her own set of tears setting in as she listened to the blonde speak, no longer struggling to move her away.

“You’ve got to accept it…and that’s the hardest part.” As she spoke she leaned her head to gently touch the other girl’s, holding her close and not letting her go.

The shark sniffled, a sob breaking through: she had no one else left…she was alone.  
But as that realization made its way into her mind, another one settled in when she felt the hug tighten “I-I’m so, so sorry that I can’t do anything for you…I’m just…useless…” another painful sob wrecked Amelia and Gura removed her teeth from the shoulder and turned her head to look at the detective, who was now leaning her forehead onto the shark’s shoulder.  
The only thing Gura was able to hear were quiet and incessant mumbles of ‘I’m sorry’, and it broke her heart.

The shark gently grabbed the blonde’s face with both of her hands, moving it away from her shoulder and in front of her own: the teary-eyed blonde, still with her eyes closed and trying to contain her cries didn’t notice the shark slowly nearing her lips to hers until she felt the warm and soft sensation, opening her eyes and staring at the girl kissing her in the most gentle manner she had ever been kissed.

Even if Amelia had been caught off guard, she managed to reciprocate the kiss.  
Her chest stopped hurting, putting all of her hidden emotions into the gesture, tears drying up; Gura had stopped crying as well, enjoying the feeling of her first kiss with the girl who had been at her side since everything in her life came crashing down.  
They stayed in that position for barely a minute and the moment their lips detached they stared at each other with a look of shyness, love and embarrassment.

“Ame, I…I care deeply about you and you aren’t useless…” was the first thing Gura said.  
“I-It will be hard to accept the fact that my family is gone…but…I won’t be alone if you’re here with me.”   
Amelia laughed a little, feeling slightly relieved by the shark’s words. “We are just two lonely hearts eh?” the question came out in a breathless whisper as she rubbed her nose onto Gura’s cheek in a tender gesture.

“I guess we are…” came the reply, accompanied with a small chuckle.  
“A! sorry for the shoulder…”  
“It’s ok, it’s not the first time…and I don’t mind if it’s you who’s biting me-“ the shark’s face turned into a tomato as she sputtered out a ‘that is so gross…’

The detective got back up on her feet, with her hand reaching to Gura.  
“Let’s go back.”

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2020, 12th September:

“Finally Gura’s going to debut…I hope she isn’t too nervous”  
“She’ll be fine, can’t go worse than my debut”   
“Yeah that’s true…but still.”

Calli, Kiara and Ina were quietly chatting in front of the computer waiting for the stream to start when suddenly they heard the door swung open.  
“I’M HERE, HAS IT STARTED YET??”  
“Gee Ame, calm down…it’s still quite early.” Mumbled Kiara with a grin on her face: she was way too eager to see her girlfriend’s debut stream.

A couple of years had passed since the fateful day where Amelia and Gura had met on that beach, now they had been dating for almost a year and recently they had decided to join an Idol group called Hololive: they didn’t really have big reasons to join as most of the girls wanted to just have fun.  
Gura was the 4th one set to debut and after her, Amelia would be the last one left; the detective sat right next to Ina as they all waited patiently.

“Oh that reminds me…” started speaking the priestess “Gura mentioned that she wanted to give you a surprise…’a jump to the past’ sort of thing.”  
“Jump to the past? Huh…well, guess I’ll have to wait and see-”   
“SHHHH, IT’S STARTING!” Kiara’s shrill voice interrupted her, as the stream’s intro to HoloMyth began playing.

Amelia gulped a little, wondering if Gura was doing well…and then she appeared on the screen, but there was silence.  
“Huh? Why isn’t she saying anything-Guh!” Amelia wondered the same but kept quiet.  
Gura on the screen opened her eyes and looked around, then her mouth opened and…

“A!” silence fell into the room, as the reverb from Gura's stream still resonated.

Amelia stared wide eyed at the screen with a red blush on her face, facepalming as she saw the loading screen appear once again after that.  
As soon as the embarrassment for the old nickname disappeared, she chuckled “You dork…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! this story came to be because of Gura's "A"...If you want follow me on twitter: @13MON4


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